So-Cal shuttlers raise funds for charity

MANILA, Philippines - Badminton players in Southern California raised more than $5,000 in a charity tournament for UNICEF’s humanitarian relief program at the Arcadia Badminton Club in California recently.

Dubbed as “Go Bad for Good: Go Play Badminton for a Good Cause,” the tournament, backed by 187 players from the Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas areas, was organized to raise funds for needy children.

Go Badminton, a training group headed by former international player Eric Go, put up the event in cooperation with the Southern California Badminton Association (SCBA), and will donate the money raised to UNICEF’s humanitarian relief program for malnourished children in the Horn of Africa and needy children in the Philippines through The Philippine STAR’s charity outreach program Operation Damayan.

Volunteers and sponsors, led by premier badminton equipment supplier Yonex, through its Torrance, California office, ensured the successful staging of the fund-raiser. Other backers were Jarrow Formulas, Macpartsonline.com, Lindenwood, Elma Gil, Chowking, Hsin Tung Yang, Joy Badminton, Wayne Sporting Supplies, Goldilocks and the Arcadia Badminton Club.

The other badminton groups that supported the event were Philippine Badminton Club of America (PBCA), Los Angeles Valley Club, San Diego Sequenators, Badminton Center Court, Woodshots Badminton Club, Las Vegas Badminton Club, California Institute of Technology Badminton, Wilson High School Badminton, Thousand Oaks Badminton Club, Southern Crew, San Gabriel Valley Badminton Club and Long Beach Badminton Club.